Funding Resources
Texas Arts Councils
Arts Council of NE Tarrant County
Houston Arts Alliance
San Angelo Cultural Affairs Council
Arts Council of Fort Worth
Texas-based Endowments, Foundations, and Public Funding Opportunities
Texas Commission on the Arts
The Texas Commission on the Arts offers funding opportunities to a diverse pool of arts organizations. Schools and school districts are eligible for funding through TCA, and this link provides information regarding these opportunities.
Brown Foundation
The purpose of the Brown Foundation, Inc., is to distribute funds for public charitable purposes, principally for support, encouragement, and assistance to education, community service, and the arts. This foundation specifically targets education and the arts
Communities Foundation of Texas
The Communities Foundation of Texas manages the philanthropic interests of donors who wish to contribute to community initiatives. Though their website does not specifically highlight school-based donations, the grant criteria do not exclude the possibility of school-based arts funding.
Meadows Foundation
The Charitable Schools Program at the Meadows Foundation provides $500 in project support for initiatives connected to community service. Connecting an arts-based project to a community outreach/service initiative can strengthen student knowledge of the arts and the school’s connection with the larger community.
Moody Foundation
Though the Moody Foundation currently focuses the majority of its funding on the continued development of the Moody Gardens, funding may be available for other projects. In addition, the Foundation has traditionally focused funding on the Austin, Dallas, and Galveston communities.
Texas Instruments Corporation Tech Smart Big Heart Program
Primarily focused on technology-related interests, the Texas Instrument Corporation also provides funding for arts-based activities in communities where Texas Instruments facilities are located.
HEB Community Investment Program
The HEB Community Investment Program is designed to provide funding opportunities for schools in communities surrounding HEB stores.
National Endowments, Foundations, and Public Funding Opportunities
NEA Fine Arts Grant Program
On behalf of the National Education Association (NEA), the NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education (NFIE) offers, for the second year in a row, Fine Arts grants to NEA members. Available to secondary (grades 6-12) school arts specialists through local NEA affiliates, the grants allow fine arts educators to create and implement programs that promote learning among students at risk of school failure. For information visit: http://www.nfie.org/programs/finearts.htm
The NEA Foundation’s Innovation Grant and Learning & Leadership Grant
Applications for these grants are accepted on an ongoing, year-round basis, so it’s never too late to apply. Grants fund activities for 12 months from the award date. Innovation Grants and Learning & Leadership Grants are funded in part by Staples Recycle for Education. The NEA Foundation’s grants are available for all subjects, including the arts, literacy, science, and technology. Read about recent projects on the foundation’s website, then submit your own idea. All U.S. practicing K-12 public school teachers, education support professionals, and higher education faculty and staff at public colleges and universities are eligible to apply.
School Grants.Org
This site lists funding possibilities for school-based projects available from both private and public resources. The site links to a variety of funding sources that allow teachers and other educators to match their circumstances and needs with the information provided on the site.
The Foundation Center
This Foundation Center communicates sources of available funding (both public and private), fundraising training, and general information on the field of philanthropy.
The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation
The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting instrumental music nationwide by partnering with businesses, schools, and communities to provide new and refurbished musical instruments to qualified schools and individual students.
Target Arts in Education Grants
The Target Corporation has developed a program to encourage the arts in schools. Teachers can go to local Target stores and find application materials. Grants are generally small in scope and provided for specific programs.
Barnes & Noble Corporate Contributions Program
Barnes & Noble’s corporate contributions program supports non-profit organizations that focus on literacy, the arts or education (K-2). They do not make donations to scholarship or grant programs, religious organizations, sports teams or events, political organizations, or medical and health-related causes. Funding is limited.
The National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities offers a wide variety of grants for public schools as well as projects that foster collaborations with museums and organizations within communities. Although not targeted specifically for fine arts initiatives, teachers in art, dance, music, and theatre who are developing projects that overlap an area of study in the humanities might want to consider the Schools for a New Millennium program.
Kraft Cares
Kraft Foods supports school-linked arts education programs with an emphasis on innovative programs that advance strategies for arts integration with school curricula. The Kraft Foods Arts Access Grant serves to strengthen partnerships between schools and cultural institutions in order to provide districts with resources for supporting arts programs.
Milagro Foundation
Focusing on serving at-risk, underrepresented, and disadvantaged youth through educational programs and health services, the Milagro Foundation also supports artistic and cultural programs that strengthen youth and communities. Grant amounts range between $2,500 and $5,000. Precedence in consideration is given to creative programs from grassroots organizations working with and for underrepresented and underprivileged children.
ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Awards
The ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Awards are granted annually to talented young jazz composers. Applicants must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States who have not reached their 30th birthday by December 31st. Applicants must submit a completed application form; the notated score of one composition; biographical information listing prior music studies, background, and experience. Applicants must also submit a cassette or CD of the composition submitted, if available. This program was initiated in 2002 with support from the Joseph and Rosalie Meyer Fund.
eSchool News School Funding Center
This online funding center provides information on how to find resources, write grants, and gather up-to-the-minute information on available funding opportunities for schools.
Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE)
In 1997, 30 government agencies formed the FREE website to provide educators access to hundreds of federal funding opportunities.
Department of Education Forecast of Funding
The Department of Education’s Forecast of Funding web page lists all current competitions for the fiscal year. The listings are sorted by program office.
GrantsAlert
This website provides non-profit organizations that specialize in education and collaborations with K-12 schools access to state, regional, and federal funding resources.
Format and Identification of Sites
The identified arts funding sites are organized by local/regional, state-level, and national-level opportunities.
Site listings are linked to the specific location of the grant information.
Sites are identified through a search of Internet resources that include arts advocacy organizations, arts educator professional associations, arts information clearinghouses, national and state funding entities, college/university websites, and foundation/funding guides.
The listed resources:
Provide information that directly applies (or could eventually apply in the case of the national resources) to funding of K-12 classroom arts-related programming
Define funding criteria and deadlines clearly in addition to an explicit and easily understood application. (In general, most organizations provided application directly online.)
Reflect specific interest in supporting Texas schools and communities, when possible
Indicate a history of funding K-12 classroom arts-related initiatives
Include current funding cycle opportunities.
(A conscious effort has been made to provide resources that benefit Texas fine arts educators in all geographic regions.)